Agitating mixing device



June 24, 1947. C, F WARREN 2,422,708

AGITATING MIXING DEVICE June 24, 1947.

C. F. WARREN AGITAT ING MIXING DEVICE Filed April 26, 1944 2 Sheeis-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

672m 512,77 Z//arren/ Patented June 24, 1947 UNITEDA S'IILT'ES f PATENT OF FICE AGITTING MIXINGIDEVICE.'

Charles E.. Warren, Milwaukee, kWis.

Application Aprii 26, 1944;, Serial No. 532,748

8 Claims;

This invention relates to.v devices for mixingma.-

terials particularly by means of' a vibrating stirrer -or dasher which agitates the material to facilitate its internnxture or to maintain it: in thatr condition.

One object of the invention is: to provide a container for the material to' be mixed or' agitated, togetherwith a vibratory member or dasher: Withinthe container and. meansoutside thev container having operative. connection with the vibrator or dasher therehiwhich ldoes not involve any sliding movement ofv such `connection through' the Wall of the container'.

Another object of: the invention is'to provide a container having one of itsV Walls or a portion 1 thereof made of flexible material and provided with a dasher or agitating member mountedwith.- in the container in. engagement with such exible Wall together with vibrating means outside the container and also. engaging said wall for transmitting vibration tothe dasher;

It is. also arr object oi the invention to provide a container having one Wall or a: portion. thereof constructed oi flexiblematerial andr provided with@ dasher mounted inthe chamber and. with yielding'fmeans holding the ldasher ycontact with such flexible wall together with' vibrating means mounted outside the chamber in contact with the iiexible Wall for transmitting vibration tothe dasher and means for adjusting thetension oi the yieldingy means; so thattheidasher and its associated parts may be given anormal frequency of vibration. in excess of the. maximum fremaency delivered toitby the vibrating means.`

It is also an obj ect of the. inventiorrto provide a.. container having an opening in one with a flexiblediaphragm sealing such opening and with a dashe-r or vibrating member mounted withinthe chamber andV held yieldingly in engagement with such diaphragm together with. a. rotary cam -oreccentric device outside the chamber and a plunger interposed betweenfsuclr cam or eccentric andthe diaphragm for causing rapid vibration ci thcfdiaphragm and dasher mresponse to: rotation K oi the cam device.

Other objects and advantages of theinvention appear from the. following' description taken in connection with the. drawings: in which:

Fig. l isi a top plan v-ieivof-y a.. @container provided agitating'` meansernbodying' this inven-tion'.

Fig. 2. is aV vertical sectional View taken substantially as indicated at.v line Z-Z on Fig. 1.

f Fig; 3` isxatransverse vertical section taken. as indicated at line 3-3 on Ii'igflzfv Fig;` 4 is a vertical sectional View taken: at the same plane as4 Fig. 2 but showing a modified form s-howinga plurality oi dashers.

Fig. 5Y is a vertical sectional view taken similarly to Fig. 2y but showing another modification in which the dasher controlling springs are in tension instead ofin compression;

Fig. 6 is also a vertical sectional view taken diametrically with respect to the .container and showing a further modication in which! the diaphragm and. dasher are anchored to an eccentricdriven pitman.

While the invention is susceptible of various `modifications and alternative constructions, the

embodiments shown in the drawings and described hereinaiter are by Way of preferred illustration only, and it is not intended that the invention belimited thereto or thereby,` but it isl th'e intention tol cover all modifications and aiternative constructions falling'within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

In mixing certain materials including various liquids and some gases or combinations oi liquids and gases,v or mixtures oi nely divided solids which are held in suspension in liquids, it is irequ-ently desirable to churn or agitato the mixture by means o a rapidly vibrating paddle or dasher; and in the handlingoi such. materials it is desirable that la container he provided therefor which'. does not require an opening through which an actuating member extends for vibrating or oscillatingv the; dasher Within the container.

In order to; avoid such a construction involving the provision of an opening in the Wall of the container the presentinvention provides one such Wal-l with a exible portion which may be in the nature of a flexible diaphragm secured in sealing engagement'. over an opening in the more rigid portionof thewall. External force applied to such dexibleoiaphragm is then employed to vibrate the dasher or agitating member mounted Within the chamber in .engagement with the inner face of the. diaphragm.

In thestruc-ture shown in Figs- 1, 2 and 3, the containerconsists' of a cylindrical vessel i hav ing a hat bottom Wall 2 with an opening 3 cut in the centrallportion of such Wall and with a flexible diaphragm A secured over this opening. The diaphragm is shown as consisting of two layers but it may be understood that it may be formed oi a single piece of material if preferred or' of a larger nu'nfiloerA of laminas Whenever that seems desirable. As shown, the diaphragm :i is clamped ini sealing engagement with the bottom wall; 2. by means of bolts 5 and 6 which extend through a clamping ring 'I engaging the inner face of the bottom wall 2, and which also engage the annular flange 8 of a housing 4il of a mechanical stroke-imparting device by which the diaphragm 4 is vibrated.

In the form shown, the stroke-imparting device includes a rotary drive shaft I0, keyed to a rotary member I I, which is journaled in the housing 9 by means of ball bearings I2 and I3 and which includes an eccentric portion I4 on which a ring I5 is journaled on ball bearings i6. 'I'he ring I5 engages a plunger II slidable in a .guideway I8 which is formed in the housing i9 and at' its upper end the plunger I'I contacts the diaphragm 4.

Within the container I there is mounted an agitating member or dasher 20 which is shown in the form of a disk somewhat smaller thany the internal diameter of the container I and which includes a depressed central portion or hub 2l bearing upon the upper side of the diaphragm 4. The dasher 2!) is positioned and guided by rods 22 which, as shown, are the upwardly extending portions of the clamping bolts `6, three of which are thus constructed as guide rods passing through bushings 23 in the dasher disk 2U and carrying coiled springs 24 which react between the bushings 23 and stop nuts 25 on the threaded upper ends of the rods 22.

Thus it will be clear that as the shaft IE! is rotated the eccentric I4 turning within the ring I5 will cause the latter to rise and fall so as to transmit reciprocatory movement to the plunger I'I, this movement being transferred through the diaphragm 4 to the hub 2I of the dasher disk Zi] causing the latter to be vibrated vertically in response to the rotation of the shaft Ill. 'Ihe nuts 25 will be adjusted so as to tension the springs 24 sufficiently to maintain the hub portion 2| of the dasher in contact with the diaphragm 4 and bearing rmly against the plunger I'I to insure that the dasher 2!) shall faithfully follow the reciprocatory movement of the plunger induced by rotation of the eccentric I4. In other words, the resilient mounting of the dasher con sisting in this case of the springs 24, is so tensioned that the assembly under control of the springs will have a normal frequency of vibration somewhat higher than the maximum frequency which will lbe imparted to it by the eccentric I4 and plunger I'I, thus insuring that the dasher 25 may be actuated at any desired frequency up to the maximum depending upon the material under treatment and the condition to be produced therein by means of the agitating treatment. For most purposes the dasher disk 20 will have a series of perforations 25 disposed in any convenient arrangement within its area.

In the drawings the container I is shown as open at the top but it will be understood, of course, that a cover may be provided if desired and that means for sealing the cover in gas tight or liquid tight relation may also be provided. Furthermore, in some cases, it may be more convenient to arrange the mounting of the dasher 20 on a removable cover or in some other wall of the container, all of which is within the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows a slight modication of the arrangement shown in Figs. 1-3, in thatr several dashers 2G, 20a and 2Gb are mounted in superimposed relation within the container I with the hub portion 2lb of the dasher 25h resting upon the central portion of the dasher 20a, and with the hub portion 2Ia of the dasher v29o resting upon the central portion of the dasher .20. The

.reciprocation of the plunger I'I thus serves to acof a single thickness and is clamped against the bottom wall 2 of the container I in substantially the same manner as in Fig. 2, by means of clamp bolts-5 and 5a. A clamp ring I is disposed inside the container and may be seated upon a sealing gasket 'Ia if desired. 'I'he bolts 5a are slightly longer than the bolts 5 and serve to anchor the lower ends of conical coiled springs 3| which control the dasher 32 of this structure. The upper conical portionsy of the springs SI engage in downwardly tapering openings 33 in the dasher and the springs thus serve to drawthe dasher yieldingly toward the upper face of the diaphragm 30. Instead of an integral hub, the dasher is shown as provided with a central screw 34 having a head 35 at its lower end fitted into -a cup 36 of rubber'or like resilient 'material which is seated directly upon the diaphragm 30. The central bore in the dasher disk 32 is threaded at 3l for engagement with the threads of the screw 34, and the upper end of the screw is slotted at 33 to receive a screw driver or similar tool by which it may be adjusted axially in the dasher disk for varying the distance of the disk from the bottom of the container and at the same time varying the tensionof the springs 3l. A lock nut 39 on the screw 34 engages the top oi the disk 32 to secure the parts in adjusted relation.

Fig. 6 shows a further modification in which a rotary drive shaft `lill is journaled in a housing 4I by means of ball bearings `42 and 43. The shaft 40 includes an eccentric portion 44 which engages in an eccentric strap 45 of a pitman 46 so that rotation of the shaft 4U oscillates the pitman 4S vertically within the housing 4I. The

bottom wall 2 of the container I has an opening 3 and a flexible diaphragm 50 is secured over this opening with its peripheral portion clamped to the bottom wall 2 in sealing engagement therewith. The clamping bolts 4`I extend through a flange 48 of the housing 4I and through a clamping ring 49 disposed within the' container I and bearing upon a sealing gasket 5I which contacts the upper face of the bottom wall 2. The pitman 46 includes an extension 52 which passes through a central opening in the diaphragm 50 but this opening is sealed when the diaphragm is clamped between a flange 53 of the pitman 46 and a spacer sleeve 54 carried on the extension `52. The upper end of the extension is threaded at 55 and an agitator plate or disk 56 is secured between the upper end of the sleeve 54 and a clamping nut 51 engaging the threads at 55. The nut 5'I thus serves the dual purpose of securing the agitator disk -56 in position and forcing the sleeve 54 into clamping engagement with the central portion of the diaphragm 50. With the pitman 46 connected directly to the eccentric 44, it will be evident that its motion will not be strictly of a reciprocating nature but the exible diaphragm 50 will accommodate itself to the Obliquity of the pitman 46.as it is oscillated in response to rotation of the shaft 4U and its eccentric 44.y The corresponding movement of the dasher plate 56 will involve a slight tilting of the plate out of the horizontal plane but the vibratory action of the agitator will be just as effective for most purposes as the movement produced in the other forms of the device already described.

It Will be evident that the principle of this invention will have Wide application. It is adapted not only to industrial and manufacturing processes, but in the domestic eld it may be employed in washing machines, egg beaters, drink mixers, dish washers, and various other mechanisms in which it is required to provide a container with a movable agitating member therein.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an agitating device, a container having an opening in one wall, a iiexible diaphragm covering said opening, a stroke-imparting device operable against the outer side of said diaphragm, a dasher in the container, resilient means holding said dasher firmly against the inner side of said diaphragm Ifor vibration in response to said stroke-imparting device, and tensioning means for said resilient means adjustable to give the resiliently held dasher a normal frequency of vibration higher than the maximum frequency of the strokes imparted thereto by the strokeimparting device.

2. In an agitating device, a container having an opening in one wall, a flexible diaphragm covering said opening, a rotary cam device and a plunger operable thereby against the outer side of said diaphragm, a dasher in the container, resilient means holding said dasher rmly against the inner side of said diaphragm for vibration in response to said eccentric, and tensioning means for said resilient means adjustable to give the resiliently held dasher a normal frequency of vibration higher than the maximum frequency of the vibrations imparted thereto by rotation of the eccentric.

3. An agitator comprising, in combination, a container having an opening in one Wall, a 'ilexible diaphragm sealed over said opening, guide means extending in the container, a dasher slidably mounted on said guide means with a part extending from said dasher into engagement With the diaphragm, spring means carried by saidguide means, and holding said Part iirmly against the diaphragm, and a rotary cam device, operable against the outer side of the diaphragm.

4. An agitator comprising, in combination, a container having an opening in one wall, a flexible diaphragm covering said opening, guide rods extending rigidly in the container from said wall,- a dasher slida'bly mounted on said guide rods with a part extending from said dasher into contact with the inner side of the diaphragm, springs on said rods bearing resiliently against the dasher, adjustable stop nuts for said springs on the rods, and a rotary cam device operable against the outer side of the diaphragm.

dashers from each other and from said diaphragm, springs on said rods bearing against one of -said dasliers and rendering said spacing means effective to transmit motion from the diaphragm to said flashers, and a rotary cam device operable against the outer side of the diaphragm.

6. In 1an agitating device, a rotary shaft, a bearing support in which said shaft is journaled, a mounting ange rigidly connected to said bearing support, a container having an opening in one wall, a flexible diaphragm covering the opening and interposed between the mounting flange of said bearing support and ythe marginal portion of said` wall around the opening, clamping bolts securing said flange to said wall, a stro-keimparting device operable by said shaft against the outer side of said diaphragm, a dasher in the container having a, connection extending into constant engagement with said flexible wall, said clamping bolts extending into the container and through the dasher, serving as guides upon which said dasher is slidably'mounted, springs coiled around said guides and abutments on the guides, said springs reacting between said abutments and the dasher to maintain the constant engagement of said connection with the diaphragm.

7. In an agitating device, a container having an opening in one wall, a flexible diaphragm sealed over said opening, la rotary cam device and a plunger operable thereby against the outer side of said diaphragm, a dasher in the container, a threaded stem extending from the dasher into engagement with the inner side of the diaphnagm and resilient means reacting between the dasher and said wall of the container to maintain said stem in engagement with the diaphragm for 5. An agitator comprising, in combination, a

causing the dasher to be vibrated in response to the operation of the cam device, said stem being adjustable to vary the pressure maintained by said resilient means.

8. In an agitating device, a container having 1a flexible wall, a stroke-imparting device operable against the outer side of said wall, a dasher in the container, resilient supporting means holding said dasher rmly against the inner side of said Wall for vibration in response to said strokeimparting device, and tensioning means for said resilient support adjustable to give the dasher a normal frequency of vibration higher than the maximum frequency of the strokes imparted thereto `by the stroke-imparting device.

CHARLES F. WARREN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,115,056 Wynn Apr. 26, 1938 2,090,496 Wynn Aug. 17, 1937 2,093,898 Taplin Sept. 21, 1937 2,344,754 Vang Mar. 21, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 182,446 Switzerland Feb. 15, 1936 136,507 Germany Dec. 4, 1902 

